Proving that few things are as flexible as a politician’s principles, the NDP government has embraced a $40-billion liquefied natural gas project.
Yes, when they were in opposition, the NDP railed against the LNG pipe dream of the B.C. Liberals. But that was then; this is now. On Tuesday, we were treated to the sight of Premier John Horgan giddy with excitement at the ceremonial announcement, while far offstage, former premier Christy Clark declared it the greatest day of her professional life.
As Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver grumbles ineffectually, it appears likely that the NDP and Liberals will vote together on any legislation needed to get the project going. Who could have imagined that two years ago?
The temptation of the promised thousands of jobs and $23 billion in provincial revenue over 40 years proved too much for Horgan and his party to resist, once they plopped into the driver’s seat. In Fort St. John and Kitimat, it’s party time, as the North gets ready for a boom.
Eerily and ironically, Horgan seemed to echo the talking points of his sometime foe, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as he argued that he can somehow work a massive fossil-fuel project into his plans to cut greenhouse-gas emissions. Weaver justifiably can’t get his head around the contradictions, but being relatively new to politics, he hasn’t yet learned to live with cognitive dissonance.
As the stresses on the NDP-Green agreement increase, the next election looks more interesting — even by B.C. standards.
